1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to display devices and more specifically, to devices providing a visual indication of player pairings in a golf tournament.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous devices for displaying team participants and the outcomes of their competition are well known. One such device includes a tiered grid for monitoring the NCAA basketball tournament as sixty-four teams compete for a national title. For other events such as golf that involve a number of individuals competing to win a tournament but often playing in groups, large scoreboards have been developed to display player standings and their scores over the course of a four day tournament. Generally, the current player standings display the front runner and the respective scores accumulated over the course of a day. Summaries are often given of previous days efforts with a final tally being displayed as players finish the tournament. The main goal of these scoreboards is supplying a large enough display for a gallery to view from a distance while maintaining the standings throughout the tournament. As players improve or weaken their position, standings change and thus player names and associated need to be moved around the scoreboard to reflect the current standings. Thus player names and associated scores are often placed on large tiles that can be removed and relocated elsewhere on the board. What is not adequately addressed by these devices, however, is a means and method for initially providing a visual indication of player pairings as they develop and an easy to use method for changing player pairings without the need for a tournament coordinator.
Activities such as golf, whether played for leisure or for competition, often involve a number of players playing together over the course of several days and may taken place on different golf courses. At the start of a tournament player groupings are determined on the basis of similar competitive ability, random drawings, or by some other predetermined method. Thus at the start of a tournament player pairings are initially established to provide players with some indication of who they will be playing with or against as well as where and when to start. Even at the start of the event and especially during the course of the event, player pairings often change as individual competitors improve or weaken their position. When activities are not for competitive purposes, players may simply desire to change partners or conditions change requiring a player to switch with another player.
For example, in business settings large groups of personnel are often brought together for the enjoyment of leisurely activities such as a golf tournament. Generally a tournament coordinator is selected to pair and keep track of participants and the designated pairings. The tournament coordinator often keeps track of the pairings using a pen or pencil and a pad of paper as players indicate the group in which they desire to play.
Problems with this method arise in several situations. In the event the tournament coordinator is not available, changes can not be made. Players seeking information on the available pairing slots or current pairings are dependent on the tournament coordinator to display such information even when the coordinator is not present. Also, players unfamiliar with other participants may be hesitant in deciding which group in which they wish to play. Players may be given several days to establish the pairings. Player pairings change often as start times become unacceptable or different pairings become available through other player preferences. In a business setting, where time may be of the essence, participants may not have time to wait for the coordinator to bring up all the requested information and make the requested changes.
What is need and heretofore unavailable is an easy to use apparatus that displays all the relevant pairing information such as participants' names, current pairings, available openings, and provides for a simple method of changing the pairings prior to and throughout the tournament with or without the use of a tournament coordinator.